05. New Roommate

"Sometimes we just bump into certain people and suddenly, they become a part of our journey"

~ Gani

The day was spent exploring around the palace with Jade, she showed me every corner around here while also explaining the rules. Some areas were prohibited for regular maids so we did not wander there. Yes, this place has regular and VIP maids.

At the end of the day my feet were crying, I was more than thankful when I was informed that we were finally heading back to our rooms, I'm now sitting on the bed in my assigned room with my feet plopped up, massaging them. "Ohhh god!!" I sigh when I hit a pressure point. The door to my room opens and a new face enters.

Each room accommodates two maids, we have our separate beds, side table, cupboard and one study table with a book rack above to store things, the room also has a shared bathroom. It's good for two people, the new maid that walks in I assume is my roommate.

"You should quiet down on those noises, anyone outside gets the wrong impression" she chuckles while untying her white apron that is tied around her knee length black maid dress. Instantly I feel myself getting relieved when I realize my roommate seems like a good person.

She walks towards her bed throwing her shoes in random directions then plops down on her bed in a titanic pose, face down. I watch her in amusement as she stays still with her face planted on her bed for a good 5 minutes. I start to get concerned until I see her turning around.

"That's better" she sighs, turning around to face me sideways, her hand supporting her head. Our beds are sideways with two side tables in between "I'm Ray and you?" She asks looking at me expectantly, I stop my massage and pull my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them.

"Daisy" I answer, her eyes widen in recognition.

"You're the one who talked directly to the devil?" She asks almost excitedly, she sits up like a child.

I look at her a bit confused, "I didn't know I'm famous" I tuck my legs under me.

"Oh! You have no idea!" She says pressing on 'idea', "you were the hot topic of today's gossip, everyone wants to see the girl who talked to the devil and still managed to stay alive" she moves her hands around frantically. "Now wait till tomorrow morning, how I'll brag that YOU are my new roommate" she squeals.

I roll my eyes at her over enthusiasm, "is everyone here this dramatic?" I comment, laying down in a comfortable postion.

"Hey! What are you doing? Are you not going to introduce yourself to your new roommate? You know a little night chat?" She asks.

"No! I'm tired, you seem like you need sleep as well, so good night" I murmur, pulling the covers over me. I'm happy that the room has an air conditioner and heater for us. When I hear no response, I turn around only to find Ray passed out in her half laying position, she actually looks so cute. "Silly girl" I say with a small smile and soon dose off to dream world myself.

~~~~~~~~~

Alarm sound going off wakes me up with a jerk, I look around groggily for the damn clock but find nothing in sight. I look over at Ray who sits up clearly in a bad mood, her dark hair all over the place. She doesn't even glances at me as she marches towards the bathroom like a zombie. The Alarm goes off after a minute and I realize it was ringing through out the hallway to wake up all the workers. I glance at the wall clock, it read 5:00 am.

I remember Jade informing me of our duty timings, every worker has to wake up at 5:00 am and are assigned different duties. Mostly everyone gets off by afternoon except for the cooks but their shifts change, so no one is over burdened with work. She assured me that if I have a long day duty, I will still get a few breaks in betweem to rest, which is fine with me.

Few minutes later, Ray emerges out with a new crisp maid uniform and hair tied in a perfect bun. Her face is makeup free except for a baby pink shade of gloss covering her pouty lips. Ray is a natural beauty, it is now that I observe her, she is about 5'4, an inch taller than me. She possessed beautiful thick dark hair that aren't too long, just reaching below her shoulders, she has a nice bust with a small curved backside. Her cheeks are naturally puffed out but in a cute way. She has a small face with a small body which makes her seem pretty young.

Her big brown orbs settle on me, "your uniform is in your cupboard, get ready, I'm waiting, we need to head out for breakfast then start working" she says in a straight tone. She clearly isn't a morning person.

I don't waste more time and hurriedly get ready, I change into my maid uniform, it stops a few inches below my knees. I'm a bit on the healthy side with a slight protruding stomach, my thighs kiss most of the time, what can I say my thighs have a better love story than me. I wrap my long brown hair in a neat bun, I take a final glance at myself in the mirror. My grey eyes stare back at me.

My nose is a little spread out, I used to   complain to my mamma that she didn't pull it enough to shape it when I was a baby but she always swore that she did, my nose was just too stubborn. I have now learned to live with it. My lips are thankfully plump, I too have chubby cheeks like Ray but unlike her, my cheeks make my eyes look smaller but I have grown to love myself as the years passed.

Ray and I head to the breakfast room, Today is my first day of work, I hope I don't cause any problems for myself. After breakfast, Jade begins to assign us our duties.

"Claire, you're incharge of this weeks laundry, I have listed 15 girls for your assistance. Mira, you'll be serving dinner for the next 15 days..." The duties change every week, in some cases after every 15 days or a month. I thought Jade is the head of all the maids but Ray informed me that she is actually the head's assistant, I'm shocked that a head maid here also has an assistant.

She informed me that the head maid, known as 'madam Joy' is a person exactly opposite to her name. She is a bitter, old mean lady and it is a relief that she doesn't assign duties herself but her assistant Jade does. That didn't mean she's careless, she actually roams around the palace, keeping a strict eye on everyone. Ray says that her eyes and ears are everywhere, I think that's a bit extreme.

How attentive can an old lady be?

"Daisy and Ray, you both will be cleaning the third floor with me this week" Jade says, eyeing us as we both jump hearing our name.

"Ok" I answer, she nods her head in approval.

"Ok then, head to your stations. I don't want any complaints or madam Joy will personally be taking care of it, and we all know that no one wants that" she warns. Almost every other person's face pales in the room, everyone quickly scurries away to their duties. "Ray, Daisy, follow me" she says, heading towards the stairs.

"I'm surprised we both are assigned the same job" I say to Ray while climbing up.

"It's the first day and you already want to get rid of me, that's rude" she says in a fake offended tone, I elbow her, "ouch! Now you are abusing me" she whines.

"If you don't shut up, I'll push you down these stairs" I threaten her half heartedly but she looks at me scared.

"Shush girls! The third floor is where the meetings are held, both the prince's office is located on this floor, keep your voices low" Jade warns us with a glare. We reach the floor, it is around 6:30 am, the floor is empty, we gey right at work, we aren't allowed to enter either of the personal office, we only have access to the rest of the floor and all the meeting rooms.

3 hours pass by in a breeze, team work does actually make the load easier, Jade called 5 more maids for a helping hand. Ray was finishing of some work in the one of the meeting rooms while Jade and I move to the other one. I dust the furniture, Jade is brooming the floor, after a few minutes I decide to have small talk, I'm getting bored cleaning the furniture for so long.

"Jade, how long have you been working here?" I ask, scrubbing a coffee stain.

She keeps on continuing with her work, glancing at me briefly, "4 years."

I'm stunned, I thought she was here for a long time "you might have thought I'm here from the past 10-12 years, right?" She asks chuckling.

I stop my work and put the dirty cloth over my shoulder, I lean my back on the long meeting table, setting my eyes on her, "yeah, I did."

"For me 4 years is also a long time. I don't know if I was lucky or really hard working that madam Joy noticed me and took me under her wing, being under her supervision automatically increases your respect and position in the palace." she says, while still focused on her work.

"How old are you?" I ask curiously, she pauses and looks at me with her dark eyes.

"Has no one told you that asking a woman's age is bad manners, it's a well known rule" she says with a smile. I have noticed that she is quite strict about rules in general.

"Then consider me as a rule breaker" I fold my hands over my chest.

"Oh! I knew you were one, the moment you spoke to the prince" she shakes her head, turning back to her work. I sit down on one of the seats, plopping my legs up on the table, resting one over the other. "I'm 32" she answers.

"You're young!" I blurt out surprised.

"Thank you" she chuckles.

"I'm 21."

"I know" I give her a confused look, she puts her broom aside, walking over to me. She takes another chair and sits beside me, she eyes my legs disapprovingly, "put them down" she taps my legs, I put them down, rolling my eyes. "Your file, prince said to take a look at it" she answers my unasked question.

"Oh!" I whisper.

"Your father was a guard for the mafia?" She asks curiously, my mood dampens at the mention of my father. Whenever he is mentioned it's like all my past sorrows and family problems come tumbling back.

"Yes" I answer curtly.

"Don't you worry, the palace pays handsomely to it's servants, your family will be fine in no time" she puts her hand over mine that is resting on my lap and gives it a small squeeze.

"My father was also their servant, he gave his life for them without thinking about his family back home." I say bitterly. "Why wasn't his sacrifice recognized? Why was his family not taken care of?" I ask with tears brimming my eyes. These questions have always lingered my mind, we tried to get some compensation but it was like the mafia never had any Gabriel working for them. My father's name was erased the day he took his last breath.

Jade rolls her chair closer to me, she pats my cheek, "Daisy, this mafia world works on give and take, as long as a servant is breathing and giving their services to them, they will give you good money and certain benefits, they will take care of you, but once the soul leaves your body..." she trails off letting me guess it myself.

"It's not fair, my father shed his blood for these worthless people" I hiss wiping my tears. "I'm not going to waste my life here like he did, once I get stable, I'll leave this place and begin a new life." I inform her of my plans.

She nods her head in understanding, "but for that you need to work hard" she says standing up.

"Which she isn't doing" a strong male voice from the entrance startles us both. We whip our heads towards the voice, my eyes widen when I find the devil himself, standing there in all his glory.

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